Congressional candidate Vic Meyers talks to a crowd at a Longmont get-out-the-vote rally Saturday. From left to right, state Rep. Jonathan Singer, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, Meyers and U.S. Rep. Jared Polis. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Democrat Vic Meyers is running for Congress in a conservative district in what is expected to be a GOP wave year, but he believes he has a great chance of defeating Republican Ken Buck.

At a rally in Longmont on Saturday, Meyers oozed confidence as explained why he got into the race back when he was frustrated with the current congressman, Republican Cory Gardner.

“I decided that enough is enough,” Meyers said. “I decided that complaining isn’t going to cut it anymore. I decided I don’t want the next two years to be worse than the last four years. So I got busy because I decided regular people have step up and get involved again.”

But Gardner in February decided to give up his safe seat and challenge U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, a notion Meyers said he found “just nuts” because Gardner “doesn’t deserve a promotion.”

Udall, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, Congressman Jared Polis and Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, were among the Democrats at the rally, all urging supporters to turn out the vote for Tuesday’s election.

Meyers now faces Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, who lost to Bennet in 2010 by 1.67 percentage points and who beat three rivals to win the GOP primary for the 4th District in June. Meyers said he has traveled throughout the vast 4th District, which includes the eastern plains counties and a chunk of Douglas County, including Park Meadows Mall.

“I haven’t seen my wife but I think twice in the last two months. I talked to her this morning. She still loves me,” Meyers said to laughter. “I’m doing everything I can and I know that when I pull off this win I know it’s because of the people in Longmont. When I leave here I’m going to go grab a packet and I’m going to go walk some doors.”

Ken Buck, who is running for Congress, coached the Longmont youth football league in the late 1990s. He also coached in Wyoming and some of those players honor him in a new ad. (Buck campaign)

Pueblo County Clerk Bo Ortiz and Vic Meyers, candidate for Congress in District 4, were among the Democrats who attended the Colorado State Fair legislative barbecue Friday night in Pueblo in August. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

So many campaign ads these days sound the same, so 30 seconds of grateful fans of prosecutor/coach/friend Ken Buck stands out. The campaign ad began airing this week.

Buck is the GOP nominee for the 4th Congressional District, which is so conservative he’s a heavy favorite, but Democrat Vic Meyers has been campaigning feverishly in the border-to-border district. The two squared off on Aaron Harber’s show. Also running in the 4th District are Jess Loban, a libertarian, and Grant Doherty, who is unaffiliated.

Buck, the Weld County district attorney, lost the 2010 Senate race by 2 percentage points. He ran again this year against U.S. Democrat Mark Udall until he withdrew from the race to make way for Congressman Cory Gardner, who is challenging Udall. Buck is now running for Gardner’s seat.

A week before ballots go out to voters, U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman and Democratic challenger Andrew Romanoff will meet up twice this week for televised debates.

The 6th Congressional District candidates, locked in one of the tightest congressional races in the nation, have met in three formal debates, the most recent on Sept. 23 in The Denver Post’s auditorium. On Monday night, they’ll duel live at 7 p.m. on Channel 20 in a half-hour debate hosted at 9News studios.

And on Thursday afternoon, Coffman and Romanoff will debate in a half-hour event hosted by CBS4 and public television station Channel 12. That matchup will air at 7 p.m. Friday on Channel 12, followed by a debate between 4th Congressional District candidates Republican Ken Buck and Democrat Vic Meyers.

Pueblo County Clerk Bo Ortiz and Vic Meyers, candidate for Congress in District 4, were among the Democrats who attended the Colorado State Fair legislative barbecue Friday night in Pueblo. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

The Colorado State Fair’s annual legislative dinner often features candidates who are running against each other — Ken Buck and Democrat Vic Meyers, for example — schmoozing together under the same tent.

Two top Colorado Republicans — Bob Beauprez and Ken Buck — introduced two top speakers at this year’s Western Conservative Summit in Denver, where jabs at the left were plentiful.

Beauprez, the GOP nominee for Colorado governor, on Friday introduced Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, credited with giving one of the best speeches of the three-day summit, which ended Sunday with the results of a straw poll for the 2016 presidential race.

Bob Beauprez, the GOP nominee for Colorado governor, and his wife, Claudia, at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Buck, the Weld County district attorney who is the GOP nominee for Congress for Rep. Cory Gardner’s seat, on Saturday introduced Dennis Prager, host of The Dennis Prager Show.

“Bobby Jindal emphasized ethics and transparency and transformed the state government of Louisiana from an embarrassment to what’s been called the best in the nation,” Beauprez said. “He emphasized jobs and the economy and he set an all-time record for employment in the state of Louisiana and a top ranking for a business-friendly climate — a role that I think I might want to follow at some point.”

Dan Haley, who ended his career in journalism as the editorial page editor of The Denver Post, is returning to politics but through a different venue.

Then-Denver Post editorial page editor Dan Haley, right, looks on as Gov. John Hickenlooper tells a story during the Denver Post Pulitzer party for cartoonist Mike Keefe. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

Haley on Monday starts work at EIS Solutions, a company most commonly identified with former state Senate Minority Leader Josh Penry, a Republican. The company has evolved from a small, energy-only firm to a more broadly focused government relations shop with an array of corporate, political and nonprofit clients.

“Josh and the team at EIS have been quietly building one of the most exciting and influential public affairs firms in the state and I’m honored to join them,” Haley said, in an e-mail.

Penry, senior vice president for EIS, said the firm wanted to grow the reach of its communications and media services.

“Dan gives us the chops to do that,” Penry said.

“Dan Haley is one of the most respected names in the public square in Colorado. Dan knows the media, messaging and strategy from the perspective of an insider. In a day-and-age when so many companies, campaigns and trades are focused on telling their story, Dan’s expertise in the corporate world, and his relationships in the media, are a true commodity.”

The fundraising advantage comes as no surprise, considering Buck narrowly lost his 2010 U.S. Senate race to Democrat Michael Bennet and was running again for the Senate before stepping aside to make way for Congressman Cory Gardner, who now is challenging U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.

Three Weld County politicians — Buck, Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer and state Sen. Scott Renfroe — and former Rhode Island politician Steve Laffey, who now lives in Fort Collins, are vying for the seat in the Republican stronghold.

Here’s the latest campaign-finance report, which covers April 1 through June 4 and were due Thursday:

With campaign season getting into full swing, there was an impressive turnout Friday morning in Castle Rock at the Douglas County Republican party’s monthly breakfast.

Among the luminaries present were three of the four candidates running in the primary for the 4th District Congressional seat — Weld County Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer, former Cranston, R.I. and transplanted Coloradan Steve Laffey, and term-limited State Senator Scott Renfroe of Greeley. Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck, also in the race, had a scheduling conflict and couldn’t make it.

Also on hand were Gubernatorial candidate and former state Senator Mike Kopp, state Sen. Ted Harvey of Highlands Ranch, and Carole Murray, the state Representative from Castle Rock, who just returned to Colorado after a post-Legislative session getaway to Mexico.

Those running for office had a chance to explain why they were suited for the job; while each of the Congressional candidates praised their opponents and said they couldn’t find anything bad to say about them, Kirkmeyer pointed out that she was only one of the quartet raised on a farm. During his time, Laffey admitted that “I may not look good on a tractor, but I fix problems.”

Given the audience, Kopp had an easy, ready-made target in Gov. John Hickenlooper. At the start of his remarks, Kopp said that when he addresses groups like Friday’s he offers a steak dinner to anyone who could come up with an example of Hickenlooper displaying leadership.

When no one took him up on it Friday, Kopp chuckled and said, “I think I’ve given away some french fries once.”

Kopp is running for the GOP nod versus former Congressman Bob Beauprez and current Secretary of State Scott Gessler. Ballots for the primaries can be mailed June 2; Election Day is June 24.

The Larimer County rancher and former mayor of Cranston, R.I., was the first candidate in the 4th District to air multiple radio and television messages, and was the sole occupant of that space for a month, according to his campaign.

Also running in the GOP 4th District CD primary are three Weld County politicians: District Attorney Ken Buck, Commissioner Barbara Kirkmeyer and state Sen. Scott Renfroe.

Gardner, a Yuma Republican, unexpectedly dropped his re-election bid in late February to challenge U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat. Buck, who had been campaigning for the Senate, decided to run in the 4th instead. He was able to transfer his Senate funds to his U.S. House campaign, but only has $153,587 on hand.

State Sen. Scott Renfroe and his wife, Pamela, at the 4th Congressional District assembly in Broomfield last week. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Buck’s campaign manager, Tim Griesmer, said they had to switch gears from a statewide race to a district race, and in the process pay off some financial obligations.

Renfroe put in $200,000 of his own money, which he said was to match Buck’s war chest, but he raised only $11,680. Kirkmeyer outraised Renfroe nearly 4 to 1.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.